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UCC/EAN-128
177
Quiet Zone
Both ends of the bar code structure require blank quiet zones. The quiet
zones must be at least 0.25 inches wide and completely blank to ensure
accurate reading of the start/stop codes and to prevent adjacent bar codes
from overlapping. You must provide sufficient space on the form for the quiet
zones.
Start/Stop Codes
The start and stop codes identify the leading and trailing ends of the bar code.
UCC/EAN-128 uses unique start codes for character subsets B and C, and a
stop code common to both. An automatic mode switching feature is used to
generate the correct start code based on the first four data field characters.
Data Field
UCC/EAN-128 bar codes require a special character called “Function 1”
(FNC1) to immediately follow the start code. IGP automatically supplies this
character, so it must not be included in the data field by the user.
A character is made up of three bars and three spaces, each varying in width
from 1 to 4 modules, for a total of eleven modules. The number of modules
making up the bars is even. The stop code has four bars and is 13 modules
wide.
The character set for UCC/EAN-128 is the same as the character set for Code
128. Refer to the Code 128 Character Set, Table 13 and Table 14. Every
character is interpreted according to the currently active character subset.
UCC/EAN-128 uses subset B and subset C only. Subset B, shown in Table
13, includes all standard alphanumeric keyboard characters, lowercase
alphabetical characters, and special characters. Subset C interprets the
characters as pairs of numbers 00 through 99, along with some special
characters, as shown in Table 14. The start code or subset switch code
determines whether a particular bar code character is decoded as one
character or as a pair of numbers.
Readable Data
The optional printed data field (PDF) provides a human-readable
interpretation of the bar code data. When the printed data field is enabled by
use of the “PDF” parameter, the overall height of the bars is reduced to make
room for a guard band and the human-readable characters. The printed data
field will be formatted with spaces or parentheses denoting particular data
fields such as the application identifier. Special characters such as start, stop,
subset switch, modulo-103 check digit, and FNC1 do not appear in the
human-readable data.
The readable data is oriented along the bar code from start code to stop code.
It may be positioned above or below a bar code, and the bar code may be
horizontal, vertical, or inverted.